AFL-CIO Blog

  • Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Profiles: Sumi Haru
    Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Profiles: Sumi Haru For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States. Today's profile is Sumi Haru of SAG-AFTRA. A longtime Screen Actors Guild board member and officer, the late Sumi Haru became the first Asian American elected to the AFL-CIO Executive Council in 1995, serving until 2001. "Actors should be involved because trade unionism is about organizing," she said. "It’s about safety for workers, decent wages, making sure we have medical coverage and pension benefits, and have dignity in the workplace." Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 05/26/2022 - 10:00 — May 26
  • Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Nurses and Techs in Newark Strike Against Management’s Demands for Givebacks
    Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Nurses and Techs in Newark Strike Against Management’s Demands for Givebacks Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. Citing management’s unwillingness to negotiate in good faith and its blatant disregard for the safety of nurses, technologists and patients, 350 members of the Jersey Nurses Economic Security Organization (JNESO) went on strike Monday at St. Michael’s Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey. The union, which is affiliated with the Operating Engineers (IUOE), said management is demanding givebacks from nurses and technologists at the bargaining table that “defy 42 years of contract history with the hospital.” “They want to eliminate the float block language we bargained for years ago that keeps nurses in areas they are competent and trained to serve,” JNESO President Elfrieda Johnson explained. “JNESO fought hard alongside members of the community to save St. Michael’s from closing in 2014, we have a vested interest in seeing it succeed, but not at the expense of the nurses and techs who care for the patients and community every day.” Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 05/26/2022 - 09:30 — May 26
  • Workers' Leverage is Here to Stay: The Working People Weekly List
    Workers' Leverage is Here to Stay: The Working People Weekly List Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List. Workers’ Leverage Is Here to Stay: “American workers have the upper hand over their employers right now—and there are tentative signs it could last, even as economic storm clouds gather….There were 661 new union filings in the first quarter of 2022—these are petitions from groups of workers seeking to hold union elections. That’s up from 448 in the same quarter in 2020 before COVID, according to data tracked by Kevin Reuning, a political science professor at Miami University.” Unions Weigh In on East Buffalo Tragedy: “‘The entire labor movement is appalled by the killing of 10 people and wounding of three by a man with racist beliefs who targeted Black people,’ said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and Secretary-Treasurer/Executive Vice President Fred Redmond in a joint statement. ‘While there’s no way to make sense of yet another racially motivated, hate-inspired attack on innocent people because of the color of their skin, it’s clear these types of mass shootings are perpetrated by those radicalized online, and we must take action. Our deepest condolences are with the family, friends, [United Food and Commercial Workers] members and an entire community who are once again dealing with unfathomable pain due to one person’s racist beliefs.’” U.S. Women’s and Men’s National Soccer Teams Close Pay Gap With ‘Game-Changing’ Deal: “The U.S. men’s and women’s national soccer teams struck a labor deal that closes the contentious pay gap between the squads, an unprecedented step that will equalize both salaries and bonuses, providing a substantial boost to the decorated women’s team. The deal was part of new collective bargaining agreements with the U.S. Soccer Federation [USSF] that were announced Wednesday morning. It was the culmination of a long battle between the women’s team and the sport’s national governing body, which included a high-profile lawsuit that was settled this year. The USSF said the agreement makes the United States the first country to achieve equal pay for its men’s and women’s soccer teams. ‘To finally get to the point where on every economic term it’s equal pay, I am just really proud,’ USSF president Cindy Parlow Cone said.” Architects Draft a New Blueprint for a Labor Movement: “In December, workers at SHoP [Architects] pushed the envelope again: Architects with the 135-employee firm announced a bid to unionize. Under the banner Architectural Workers United, the workers mounted the first significant labor push in the building design industry since 1971….‘When architectural workers first reached out to us, my first question was, what is the standard now?’ says David DiMaria, an organizer with the [Machinists], the global trade union that Architectural Workers United hoped to affiliate with. DiMaria describes feeling a ‘holy s--t moment’ as he surveyed the field: ‘This is a professional trade that is completely not unionized.’” Newly Organized Workers Are Talking About Why It’s Important to Join a Union: “With AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and newly organized cannabis worker members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 360 and Starbucks Workers United, New Jersey AFL-CIO President Charlie Wowkanech opened the press conference with the essential point: ‘Workers deserve what the bosses are getting: better wages, health care, decent working conditions and respect on the job.’....‘This is your moment; workers are showing everyone what can be done when they organize, that they can take on the corporate giants and win,’ said AFL-CIO President Shuler.” The Year Workers Said No: “Liz Shuler, the president of the AFL-CIO, the country’s largest labor federation, said the past year has shown ‘workers in motion.’ ‘Coming out of the pandemic, working people have not only shown their resilience, but they’ve shown that they are ready to draw a line and demand more,’ she said.” United Reaches New Contract Deal With Pilots’ Union, the First of the Major Airlines in Pandemic: “United Airlines and its pilots’ labor union have reached an agreement on new contract terms, the first of the major carriers to strike a deal since the start of the COVID pandemic. The crisis roiled the industry and exacerbated a pilot shortage and training backlog. The Air Line Pilots Association and United didn’t disclose the terms of the deal on Friday, but they will likely include higher pay and other improvements. United has had perhaps the least contentious relationship with its pilots’ union of the major carriers and struck early deals during the pandemic to keep aviators on staff and trained.” Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 05/25/2022 - 10:13 — May 25
  • Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Profiles: Lucia Hsiung
    Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Profiles: Lucia Hsiung For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States. Today's profile is Lucia Hsiung of UNITE HERE. Lucia Hsiung is a shop steward at Brandeis University Dining Services, where she has worked for more than 21 years. She enjoys the fast pace and excitement of worker rallies and strikes. Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 05/25/2022 - 10:00 — May 25
  • Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Texas Climate Jobs Project’s Report Shows the Right Way to Build Fast, Reliable Fiber Broadband
    Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Texas Climate Jobs Project’s Report Shows the Right Way to Build Fast, Reliable Fiber Broadband Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. The Texas labor movement is fighting to ensure that jobs in emerging industries are good union jobs. A new report from the Texas Climate Jobs Project, a project of Fair Shot Texas and Fair Shot Texas Action Fund in partnership with the Texas AFL-CIO, demonstrates that fiber broadband work is best performed by union members who are ready, safe and well-trained to get the job done right. The report, What Lies Beneath, also found that eight individual contractors associated with Google Fiber projects in Texas are named in 29 separate Occupational Safety and Health Administration enforcement records, and were fined at least $227,375. Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 05/25/2022 - 09:35 — May 25